Reunions
by Fatemperor
Summary: Having defeated the immediate threat, the Exile now has to find her old comrade and put a stop to the dark designs of the True Sith. Will they prevail? How will this affect them? Starring LSF Exile and LSF Revan.
1. Fugit Hora

Hello! After a long hiatus in which I have seriously examined my reasons for writing, I started Reunions. In previous stories, I had my main character indifferent, uncaring and sort of detached. I realize now that while certain characters can be portrayed this way, the universe of Star Wars is not where such things happen. Everything that has happened or will happen in Star Wars is a product of emotion. I guess it was because of my tenuous mentality at that time. I felt so unmoved by the world in general so I made my characters in my own image.

I hope this has changed. I rewrote this one chapter so many times, this must be the fifth or sixth incarnation, because I wanted to put as much of my feelings into it as possible. I hope this will provide entertainment and interest for my readers and perhaps, it will make them think about issues which I may discuss. What these are, I leave to your interpretation.

Disclaimer: As always, Star Wars and all related products are the intellectual property of George Lucas and LucasFilm. KotOR and KotOR II are reserved by Bioware and Obsidian in conjunction with LucasArts. However the name of the Exile (Taryn Lanar) is mine. Any other disclaimers or claims will be made in future. I now leave it to you to read and review this story. Criticism appreciated, especially the constructive kind.

* * *

Prologue – Fugit Hora (1) 

The Exile was leaving. Taryn Lanar was leaving. She was leaving. And no one was going to try and stop her. Not Admiral Onasi, of the Republic Fleet; not Visas Marr, former Sith; not Mira, former bounty hunter; not Mandalore, the stoic; no one.

She was going alone, taking only two droids who had once upon a time been the possessions of her objective. She wasn't even taking the ship that most of her recent travels had taken place on.

Goodbyes had to be said. Paths had to be followed. The past had to be laid to rest.

* * *

'Farewell Admiral, I hope the galaxy remains reasonably peaceful.' she said, with the deference to his rank evident, the shallowness of the comment inherent. 

'Are you sure you won't stay, just for a few days? My wife and son will be returning from wherever they are soon, I'm sure they would love to meet you,' _And maybe persuade you to take someone along with you..._ he thought.

'I'm sorry, Carth,' her tone was warmer, 'I have to go, something tells me an important event is going to happen soon, and I have to be there for it. Otherwise...' she let the word hang. 'Take care of the _Hawk_, Admiral. She's still Revan's ship.'  
'You got it.'

He stepped back, still looking dapper in his dress uniform. Taryn took a moment to scan the crowd. There were Republic troops from the newly arrived fleet, clustered behind their Admiral. Over to the left, Onderonian military along with Zherron's militiamen from Dantooine. And on the right, a company of Mandalorians, she spotted Mandalore's silvery armour near the front, but he was conversing avidly with Kelborn about something or other. She was about to turn and board her ship when she spotted a shock of white hair near the back of the throng.

Making her way around the edges, she came to a halt four feet from the other. Yes, it was her, Atris. Staring at her feet, she looked up towards Taryn's face, the high cheekbones and full lips, and those eyes, the epitome of depth and hidden emotion, emotion that she had exposed to only three people. Atris was one of them. 'Um, hello, Taryn. I just came to see you off, and to say thank you, and to ask for your forgiveness.' She had cut her hair, the pure white strands fell to the nape of her neck, and she had a gauntness around the eyes, that told of the horrors of the Dark Side.

'Hello, master. I... did not expect to see you again so soon. I thought you would need more time, you know, for healing.'

'You still call me master?' she chuckled, 'I had to come and see you go. You saved me, after all I did. After the torture that the Council and I put you through.' she looked close to tears.

'I put myself through it. It was my fault. I should have seen the signs. But we were all caught up in Revan's wake. She held all of us in her sway. She was, _is_ brilliant. I will find her, and hopefully together we can stop the onslaught that is to come. You are forgiven, Atris.' The older woman shuddered at the sound of her name.

'By the way, how are your handmaidens? I know they are still alive, and I called in the emergency as soon as the Ravager detonated.'

'They will be fine. They hold you in awe, you know. You defeated all of them at once. One of them especially wanted to come and see you. But I don't think they will forgive me so easily. N-not like y-you...' she broke down. Taryn embraced her, sharing all her sorrow and pain, drawing it from her. The woman was creating a noticable eddy in the Force. Hopefully she would be okay in time.

'Atris, you and I both know how easy the fall can be. But you are redeemed. Can't you hear the Force telling you that? The Jedi Order needs to be rebuilt. Some of those I've trained will be its foundations, but you can be a part of it too, if you want.'

'No, I don't think so, it would be exposing myself to temptation once more. I need time. You had time, and now look at you, I can't believe you could ever be tainted. I can't believe I ever thought that of you. Dammit! How can you forgive me so easily!'

A soft voice cut into their conversation, 'That's what I'd like to know as well.' Taryn started. Searching for the source of the voice, she spotted a figure in a heavy and unrevealing robe nearby. The figure lowered the hood of the robe. 'Brianna! You are alright, then?'

'Yes. I am. In body at least. I want to know how you find it so easy to forgive. She almost killed my sisters and me! I don't hate her, but I can't forgive what she did.' there was anguish in her words. Atris looked like she was near tears again.

'You have to let it go. Let the past go. No matter what someone has done, you must believe that he can be saved. That is the way of the Jedi. And you are one now. No one can say anything about it. Your parents would be proud.'

'Now that answers a lot of questions I didn't ask. Hey, you're okay, that's good.' That last was to Brianna. The Mandalorian-born bounty hunter clasped hands with the ex-Handmaiden, palm to forearm, then turned back to Taryn.

'Shouldn't you be going already? I mean, not to sound pushy or anything, but... y'know, you've said goodbye, like, a hundred times and you're still here.' The redhead grinned.

A small smile touched Taryn's lips. 'I was just saying goodbye to some special people.'

'Do I count?'

'Of course. What would I do without you?'

'Well, you wouldn't have gotten drugged on Nar Shadaa, you wouldn't have been followed by a seven-foot carpet trying to kill us, Visquis probably would've killed you when you were trying to get out of the labyrinth... Eh, have I forgotten anything?'

'I'm not sorry I got drugged by you. Otherwise, we wouldn't know each other. It doesn't matter what you did. Our experiences bring us together.' She gestured at Atris and Brianna, 'All of us.'

'I'll miss you.'

'So will I. And I'll always be here if you're ready for that talk.'

'Maybe I'll take you up on that when you come back. And that stuff about having a mother, I never knew her. I wouldn't mind having a sister though.'

Taryn gathered the three of them into her arms, knowing this would be the last time she touched them for a while. Then she released her grip, waved a final goodbye, and turned to her ship where it lay glinting in the sun.

She climbed into the silver ship and took off, leaving the massive station behind. Telos shrank as they sped away from it, and into hyperspace. So it was happening again. She was leaving for the farthest reaches of the galaxy. But it was different. She had the Force. And she was leaving friends behind. And she was looking for one.

(1) Fugit Hora - Latin - The hour flees.

* * *

Yes, I know, gender crossover. The Handmaiden is only available to male characters etcetera. However I found her so much more useful than the whiny scholar-soldier. And she's hotter too. (My opinion as a teenage guy.) I just can't stand Mical's voice. Sorry to Disciple fans. Also sorry in advance because he will not be in any part of this story no matter what the circumstances. 


	2. Ad Infinitum

Haha! First chapter up within a week! Quite short but more to come. Thanks to all reviewers, well, both of them so far: **yellieisarobot** and **Lady Sara Revan**. Hope you all like it.

As always, I don't own Star Wars or anything under that label. The names Taryn Lanar and Hana M'teli are mine, as well as planet Arcadium and scoutcraft Peregrine. Oh yeah! Revan's Coda is mine. GL, you can't have it. Sorry.

* * *

Chapter 1 – Ad Infinitum (1) 

Revan stood outside her self made home, a one-storey building of wood and stone which she had built with the Force and her own hands. Her one-man, long-range recon fighter was parked next to it. She was on an uninhabited world, rugged and beautiful, where it was easy to find food and water as there was a stream running by the back. She had jokingly called it Arcadium.

She had claimed this place as her base for finding the True Sith just two and a half years ago, after four years of moving from planet to planet, finding small symbols and clues of their existence but never anything concrete. It was as if they were avoiding her for some reason, or maybe they did not exist or had been wiped out. Maybe her recollections had been nothing more than delusional memories of her life before the Jedi had rescued her; or maybe, she was going mad.

Then, six months ago, a long dormant strand of her being that was connected to another had awoken. There was a message, with a familiar feel about it, it said, 'I'm coming.' Then it faded, again.

* * *

Taryn Lanar, the Exile, flew swiftly through space in the scoutship she had bought with the credits she still had in an unmarked account the she had created when she was still a general under Revan. She had christened it the _Peregrine_ (2) before setting off for the Unknown Regions to look for her old friend and comrade-in-arms. 

Revan had formed Force bonds with all her trusted generals so that she would be able to command them more effectively; but after she had been Exiled, that bond had been broken, but now was renewed as Taryn regained her connection to the Force. A month after she defeated Kreia, or rather Darth Traya as she had called herself, she had tried to send a message to Revan through the Force, to prepare her for her arrival. Now, after six months of relentless searching, she was getting close.

Six months, following the indelible trace Revan left in the Force, like a bloodhound who had caught the scent. Revan had always been powerful, attuned to the Force. But some of the things she had heard disturbed her. Had Revan truly fallen so far in the years they had been apart? As she edged closer to a confrontation - no, she forced herself to think positively – a meeting with her old friend, nevertheless she could not discount the possibility that Revan had fallen that far, and she hadn't climbed back up.

Revan's trail was very conspicuous to someone who had been as close to her as Taryn. The feel of it told of loss and sorrow, interspersed with small bursts of happiness and love. If only she had known how much Revan relied on her.

She had left all her companions behind, as she knew that although Kreia had been the Betrayer, she had been telling the truth about the Sith Empire. When she had told them that she would be leaving, she knew how they felt, she had not wanted to let go. But it had to be done, as the True Sith would surely find some way to exploit the bonds between her and them. Only the two droids had been brought along, as they would prove to be invaluable later. But Revan had had companions too. And she too had left them behind. What had told her to? The Force? Why was she the only one permitted to stand beside Revan on this dark path?

* * *

Revan had felt the strength of the bond increasing as its other end neared her, like a single strand of string twisted with many others becomes a rope. She wished she could remember who the person was; there was a distinctively feminine feel about it, but she couldn't place it. 

It was a memory still locked away in the depths of her consciousness. There were many gaps in her past, her true past, not that sham the Jedi had created for her. Hah! Hana M'teli, a falsehood, conjured out of nothing! For a moment she felt anger stirring in her breast, anger at their audacity, at Bastila's acting skills, at her own stupidity.

Suppressing it, she recited her Coda: 'I am one with the Force. I will not succumb. I will face the darkness. I will prevail. The Force is with me.' She had felt the words through the Force, those that seemed right. It helped when the darkness within threatened to overwhelm.

She stopped her expeditions, in order to settle down and wait for her visitor.

* * *

Taryn approached the slightly brown hued world on which she was sure Revan was ensconced. She told T3 to handle the automatic landing procedures while she went to activate HK-47, just to be prepared for anything; that Revan had been captured or worse, had turned to the Dark Side. 

She approached the rusty red coloured droid and fumbled for a moment with the circuit controls, she'd never been that good with electronics, she wished Bao-Dur were there, but he had stayed on Telos to continue working on the Restoration. Ah well, T3 would have to do, after all, they were both Revan's droids.

She finally managed to connect all the proper circuits and HK came to life with a 'Sarcastic comment: Master, what an enjoyable time that was!' She opened her mouth for a retort but suddenly everything went black.

* * *

Revan watched the silver ship settled into the dust in a perfect three-point landing. The ramp lowered and her jaw dropped, then she ran up to the rusty red droid, 'HK! How is this possible? I told you to stay behind, to protect Carth and Bastila and the others! Who brought you here anyway? What's been happening while I've been gone?' The questions poured out. 

'Overjoyed Reply: Master! How nice to see you again after all this time. I shall answer your questions in turn. It is possible because I flew here on this ship. Taryn Lanar brought me here. Since you've been gone, the crew has separated; the Ebon Hawk suffered extensive damage but was repaired; the Jedi have gone into hiding, including your friends; Taryn is the only one currently assured to be alive, but not for much longer; the Sith have shown themselves and are preparing to move. I believe that is all the relevant information for now.'

'What do you mean, not for much longer?'

'Concerned yet Sarcastic Answer: Why, she's just collapsed in the cargo hold, Master. I could not detect any airborne poison or pathogen, but just to be safe I engaged the disinfectant sprays. There is nothing more I can do. Sorry, master.'

'Fierfek,' she muttered before dashing into the cargo area, which smelled strangely of cinnamon from the disinfectant, where she found Taryn sprawled across the floor, her face pale and turning blue, bringing back many memories, both good and bad.

She put her fingers to Taryn's temples, feeling for a pulse, there was none. Then she too sprawled onto the floor, as if struck an invisible blow.

(1) Ad Infinitum - Latin - To Infinity  
(2) Peregrine - I love this name, it means 'wanderer' so I find it appropriate.

* * *

So, two main characters coming together! I guess this answers your question, eh, yellie? By the way, the next few chappies are gonna be flashback style so I'm telling you guys in advance. I'm making a couple of interpretations about major events during the Mandalorian Wars. 


	3. Si vis pacem, para bellum

5k words, a milestone for this story. Flashback begins here and will not stop until I say so. Thanks to reviewers and readers alike for your support, I need your feedback to make this better! Hopefully this story will not die out on me.

Disclaimer: Yet again... Georgey boy owns Star Wars and realated products, I now own Captain Elyse Shapiro, Republic cruiser _Republic's Pride_, well, that's it for now.

* * *

Chapter 2 – Si vis pacem, para bellum. (1) 

Taryn hit the deck, then was swallowed by a whirling vortex of sound and colour, only to have her vision snap into focus onto a place all too familiar. She had no control over it, watching through her own eyes the scene embedded in her past.

It was a peak of the Republic's retaliatory campaign against the Mandalorians. They had reconnoitred and discovered a forward attack base, the main staging area for the Mandalorian fleet in the Stenness Node, a direct route to the Kuat Sector. (2)

It was Dxun. The sole moon of Onderon provided a superb base of operations, with ample natural defences, namely the jungle and the beasts.

That day, the last of a siege that had lasted three weeks, Taryn was losing hope that the situation might be resolved quickly, morale was down and the troops, mostly young conscripts, were scared shitless.

Revan called down from her command ship, _Republic's Pride_, 'How's it looking, Taryn?'

'Not good, from what we've seen they have at least a thousand elite warriors holed up in there and we've lost two squads to the predators. The troops are scared, Revan.'

'That's why I'm counting on you to lead them, Taryn. They will follow you. No cost is too great, we must win this battle.'

Taryn pulled herself to her full height of five feet and nine inches and saluted her commander, 'Yes ma'am.'

'Good luck, my friend.'

'And to you as well.'

Taryn walked over to the squad captain to get the latest recon Intel. She'd known this woman for a long time, Elyse Shapiro of Corellia, a tactical wizard who was quick to point out flawed battle plans and quicker to throw in support for good ones. A good comrade, and one who treated her like a person, not as a god.

'So?'

'Same as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Scouts report impenetrable dense jungle, further complemented by towering cliffs, except here,' she pointed up the trail.

'That's the only way in? What about earth-movement?'

'Sonographs indicate the cliffs are at least seven hundred metres thick, and our heavy equipment is impeded by the undergrowth.'

'Explosives?'

The stocky woman sighed, 'When are we going to stop kidding ourselves, Taryn? This is the only way in. We _are_ going to lose people and we might as well resign ourselves to that fact.'

'That's not a fact unless I say it's a fact. Do you get that, Captain?'

Military training took over; she snapped to attention, despite the insects, the heat and the fact that standing up straight made one a nice outline for snipers.

Taryn stiffened. She sensed something – malevolence, nearby, preparing to –

'Move!' Fluidly she shoved Elyse to the ground and ignited her lightsaber, placing herself between the blaster bolt and its intended target, deflecting it back at the source.

A strangled cry was its only response. A squad of troopers moved in around them, alerted by the shot and the _spang_ of the deflection.

She motioned them forwards, where she sensed that blind, black hatred. Again, a blaster shot flew past them, aimed a little too high. She raised a closed fist, _halt_; moved, saw a flash of blue armour, sniper rifle trained on her, slashed, life snuffed out. Open palm downwards, _secure the area_. Back to the attack plan.

Thus began the longest and bloodiest day of fighting in the entire war.

* * *

Taryn walked over to where the troops were crouching behind a wall of dirt. Time to give them some motivation. 

One of the young men turned to look at her, 'Excuse me ma'am, but wouldn't it be more prudent to take out their defences from the air? I mean, come on, we could overrun them with an air assault, why're we even here? Why are we fighting?'

Taryn was about to order a court martial for him questioning orders but decided better of it. 'I'm sorry, but Revan is occupied with the Mandalorian reinforcements, there is heavy combat up there as well...'

She turned to the soldiers. 'Listen, Private, you want to know why we're here?' her voice was loud enough for the others to hear as well.

'We're here because we're protecting all those things that we love; we're here because it's our duty and our honour to protect the Republic in its time of need; we're here because if the Mandalorians take over the galaxy, they WILL take your families, and your homes, and your lives. We're here because this is where the Force has led us, and this is where we are meant to be. Now are you going to let them take all that away from you? Are you going to roll over and die? Are you going to be remembered as dishonourable cowards, as the Mandalorians seem to think? No! I say we fight, even if we're scared shitless, even if we're tired, even if we're the only ones left, I say we fight! Are you with me?'

'YEAH!' the cry went up, so that even the Mandalorians behind their embankments and barricades could hear.

'Then charge! For the glory of the Republic!'

Strangely, she felt no shame or disgust at herself for spouting all that bantha crap, it was as if she believed what she was telling them, that she wasn't sending them to their deaths, maybe it was because she was going to die with them.

The Mandalorians opened up with heavy repeaters; many of the Republic troops were cut down before they could get close to the entrenched Mandalorians.

The Mandalorians also made their stand, rushing out of their high-walled encampment to meet the Republic's finest head on. She cut one down here, deflected a bolt at another there, there were always more. She whirled to slash the legs off one of them, his armour melting like hot cheese.

Caught up in the flow of adrenaline, she failed to notice one of them drawing a bead on her, there was a whine, but she didn't hear it, didn't feel it. Turning in time to see Elyse take a hit in the chest and fall, Taryn caught her, caught her falling sidearm, fired three shots that effectively dispatched the Mandalorian, tried to give first aid. The tissue damage was horrific. Flesh scorched and peeled back to expose shattered bone. One lung trying vainly to reinflate its intact half. Heart still pumping blood out of torn arteries. Even as she analyzed the wound, she knew.

'It's bad isn't it? I know.'

'Dammit, why? I could've blocked it!'

'Nah, you couldn't, simply too late, couldn't let you die, now, could I?' Talking in breathless gasps, never a good sign. 'Good luck, Taryn.'

'Damn you! Medic!'

By the time the med officer reached them, it was too late.

Taryn willed herself to suck the almost tears back into her eyeballs. She could not afford to look weak in front of her troops, not at this critical point in the campaign; otherwise, she would never be able to regain that trust and confidence in her authority. Once more, she became that most daunting of figures, a Jedi.

But inwardly, all the tears were eating away at her, slowly dissolving her essence. For every soldier who fell, she shed a thousand tears, tears that would never see the light of day, suppressed and contained within that facade of calm detachedness. And so the darkness grew, the self-doubt and self-loathing grew, the dark side within her, grew.

Everything happened very fast after that, she remembered jumping over the dirt barricade and running after the troops, lightsaber ignited;

she remembered the mines that went off when the first squad hit them, the smell of burnt flesh mixed with cordite;

she remembered the blood that had sprayed onto her when the trooper next to her was hit by a micro flechette round, warm and sticky;

she remembered cutting down the next Mandalorian she saw, and then another, and again, until no Mandalorians still stood who were living. She said to herself, 'They wouldn't have surrendered anyway.'

Finally, face and clothes blackened by smoke and dust, skin covered in burns and cuts from shrapnel, muscles aching from the heat of battle and feeling the lethargy brought on after an adrenaline high, she stepped aboard the return shuttle to Revan's flagship, which had apparently won its own battle.

When the shuttle docked, Revan was there to meet her; they embraced, regardless of the state of her clothes.

'How did it go?'

'As well as could be expected.' she gulped, 'We lost about half our troops in that final charge up the mountain...' she gulped, heavily, 'Revan, I can't do this anymore.'

'What do you mean?!'

'I can't, I just can't keep sending these men, barely men, to their deaths, I've seen too much death and killing for a hundred lifetimes. I can feel my soul being eaten away. Please, Revan, I don't want to fight, to lead anyone anymore.'

'Taryn, don't you see, this, all this is about ending the fighting, ending the conflict, after this, we'll never have to fight again, there _will_ be peace... Please, you must lead the troops, you are the only one they will follow, because you are a leader, you have always been.' She pleaded, 'I'm just... just the strategist, I can't get people to follow me.'

'Well, you got me to follow you. And whatsisname, the tall guy.' She observed, lucidly.

'Malak.'

'Yeah, him.'

Taryn sighed heavily, 'All right Revan, but after the war is over, I'm destroying my lightsaber. I will _never_ fight again.' She turned and walked, or rather slouched out of the hangar, with a world-weary aura about her.

In her quarters, she thought about what Revan had said. About making war for peace. And then she decided it was bantha crap. The war had changed Revan even more than it had changed her, every time she looked into her friend's eyes, she saw an odd glint, something that hadn't been there before. Looking at her self in the mirror, she saw something similar in her own eyes, except it wasn't a glint, it was an abyss, a darkness that threatened to pull her into it. Turning away, she began to cry. Tears mixed with the blood that stained her tunic. _Blood and tears, how poetic_, said the detached part of her.

Taryn stepped into the_ Pride_'s cavernous main hangar, as a general, it was her duty to pay last respects to all the men and women who had died that day. The troops had gathered in orderly lines; though the tension was still palpable, she could feel their alertness, their readiness should the Mandos launch a retaliatory attack.

She noticed Revan standing off to one side, trying to be unobtrusive, she never could pull it off, what with her height and all; or, for that matter, that goon who had taken to following her around. _Never did see what he has to offer._

She walked over to the podium and began, 'Today, we fought. We fought not just for our own survival, no matter how much it may seem that we're alone, we fought for the survival and for the freedom that we have become accustomed to, complacent with. Today we fought for the 'glory' of the Republic...' she trailed off. It was time for her to say her piece, to say what she really felt.

'Today, we lost a lot of good people, including many who I knew personally. Most of you have lost friends, family.' Her voice cracked, clearing it, she continued.

'Too many, in a war that should not have happened in the first place. These Mandos, they want glory, and battle is their way of achieving it. We may not ever understand them, but we don't have to, they are killing us, thus we must kill them. To them, anyone who does not defend himself is a coward, anyone who defends another is a fool. If we hide behind civilians, they will die with us; if we do not fight, we will die.

'But when the fighting is over, if we win, those of us who still live will have to bear the burden of being erstwhile victors, so-called heroes, lauded by all. But we will know the truth, we are not heroes. We killed civilians when they thought we wouldn't, we killed even those who surrendered to us. In war, the only thing that matters is your survival.' She walked out of the hangar, as one who is already dead. Silence reigned.

Revan watched the scene unfold through Taryn's eyes, heard her thoughts, and wondered, could it really have been she who gave the orders that day, that no cost was too great, that sent thousands of men to their deaths?

Could it have been she who chose to hide behind the strength of her battle strategies and generals like Taryn instead of being down there with her?

Was it really she who had said that they had to have war for peace?

Furthermore, was it she who had set her truest companion on the dark path to self-destruction?

There was really only one answer: Yes.

But the question was, was it still who she was?

(1) Si vis pacem, para bellum - Latin - If you want peace, prepare for war.  
(2) Refer to Galactic map available in several Star Wars books and online.


	4. Facilis Descensus Averno

Sorry for the long wait. I'm currently undergoing my GCSE's/O-levels, well, in my country we call them SPMs. Anyway, I took a little time off to post this, hope I don't fail anything because of it : ). This is a darker bit of the story, how the Exile lost the Force and how Revan fell into darkness. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Once again, Bioware owns KotOR in conjunction with GL, who owns Star Wars. Small, unassuming gunmetal grey box belongs to me, as well as Revan's epitaph and Corellian snapdragons.

* * *

Chapter 3 – Facilis descensus Averno (1) 

Then images flew through Taryn's mind as though in a flipped book, before everything crashed to the ground again, this time it left her gazing out of a window port on the flagship at a planet clouded over with the smoke of many bombs and heavy fighting. A trio of fighters sped by the window, pursued by a Mandalorian gunship, so close the vibration shook her teeth.

She wondered again, why she had stayed for so long with Revan. She admired the woman for her level-headedness and skill, but was there something deeper?

She turned away from the viewport, and to the techs that were completing Revan's master plan for the final defeat of the Mandalorians.

The chief tech, an Iridonian, came forward, 'General, we are not sure of the magnitude of destruction this device will cause. It is highly unstable and could cause unparalleled seismic upheaval on the surface. Also, I'm not sure whether something like this was meant to be built and controlled by beings such as we, who would use it for their own personal means, even if it was the CinC's plan.'

Taryn looked him squarely in the eye, 'That may be, but she is still the Commander in Chief of this fleet and until something changes about that, we are obliged to follow her orders. Give me the control.'

'Yes ma'am.' He said, passing her a small, unassuming gunmetal grey box with naught but a solitary button on it. 'I do hope you know what you're doing, General...' he trailed off.

In her heart, she thought, 'Me too...'

Taryn opened a channel to Revan's comlink.

'Revan, It's ready, get back to the ship and we can end this war straight away.'

'No Taryn, I must stay till the very end, I am going to challenge the Mandalore to single combat. It's the only way to ensure their submission to the Republic.'

'You can't be serious. If you're still down there when this happens...'

'You just be ready, as soon as I'm clear, do it.'

'You'd better be right about this.'

'Trust me. I know what I'm doing.'

Therein lay the problem, as the war progressed, Revan had changed. Outwardly, to anyone who did not know her well, she was just a patriot, someone who stood for the defenceless. However, Taryn now knew what it was in her eyes that hadn't been there before. It was a certain zeal, a lust for battle and glory that the Jedi were taught never to seek. And Taryn's faith in Revan waned, as her faith in herself did too.

* * *

Revan remembered it well enough, the great Mandalorian warrior, clad as he was in battle scarred duranium armour, wielding a weighty Mandalorian blade, sensing his intentness on the coming fight. 

She coolly walked up to him, they stared at each other, watching for any sign of discomfort or fear. She drew her lightsabre, holding it in guard position as he did the same with his broadsword.

Circling each other, their blades met in combat for the first time, a trial of pure, unadulterated strength. Steel clashed against sapphire energy, sparking where it met the cortosis woven into the blade. Calling upon the Force, Revan was able to hold him off, but barely.

They backed off, until there was a space of a meter between, watching, waiting for any opening, anything that might give one the upper hand. Then, swinging the great sword as if it was made of paper, Mandalore, leader of the mightiest warriors in the galaxy went on the offensive.

Revan met each of his strikes with comparable strength, but he was slowly wearing her down, sapping her strength, while not showing any visible strain himself. Again and again their blades crashed, lighting up the surrounding area with sparking blue light.

Blades locked together, Revan looked into the forbidding eyeslits of the silver helmet, imagining she could see his eyes behind them. Mandalore stared her down, and a wave of anger rushed out of him, aimed at her, at all Jedi, at all their perceived weaknesses.

A flash of premonition touched her mind, she tried to vault backwards, to cushion the blow, but it was too late, his gauntleted left fist struck her in the upper torso, sent her flying back and into the ground, spinning across the ravaged ground.

Getting up onto her knees, she counted herself lucky not to have broken anything, coughing up a gob of blood-laced spittle, she was about to stand when she saw his boot coming. There was no way she could avoid it, not if she had the reflexes of a Corellian snapdragon (2), the pain was nigh unbearable as she once again went sprawling. She lay on her back, wheezing and hacking, a dark trickle ebbed out of the corner of her mouth. Her lightsaber had vanished into the darkness, though she could still feel its energy.

'Get up and fight, _Jedi_, I will not kill an opponent who so readily submits to dishonour.' Mandalore taunts her.

'What's the matter?' she coughed, 'Afraid this will hurt your credibility?' she goaded him. That last word took a lot of breath, and set her hawking blood again. Two, maybe three ribs broken, internal injuries, the works.

Mandalore chose this moment to launch into soliloquy, taking off his helmet to see her with his own eyes, 'No Revan, I respect you too much for that. If you had been a Mandalorian, you would have come far indeed. Too bad you're a snivelling Jedi,' he spat, 'You rely on your vaunted Force, the powers it grants you, you are weak without it. Take it away, and you are no more than babies with sticks. Any one of my warriors could kill you. You, who are already weak, protect those who are weaker still, those who cannot help themselves, those who do not deserve to live. And for that, you will fall. You especially, Revan. You could have been great, if you were not a Jedi wench. Now the time is at hand for you demise, I'll be sure to give you a fitting epitaph. Get up so I can kill you properly.'

He put his sword point to her neck, pressing upwards, forcing her to stand.

She thought about what he had said, about the lives wasted in this meaningless war. A war not for power or greed, not for a righteous cause, not for an unrighteous one even. It was a war of the strong versus the weak, of the arrogance of an entire race against the lives of everyone else. And he had called her weak, had called her calling and the Force weak, had called the soldiers and the civilians who had fought for their homes, their families and their lives, weak. She would have to remedy that.

Calling upon the Force, she tried to lift her arms, to fight, but her strength had fled, she sagged, and the point of his blade drew fresh blood. Bright red, it leaked from the pinprick wound, staining her robe, each drop weakening her further. The wounds within were leaking too, either way, she would die.

Taryn felt her pain, she dropped to the floor in the command centre, clutching her torso, and she saw through Revan's eyes, and felt her fear of death. With her own eyes, she saw her staff clustering around her, trying to see what was wrong. Revan sent her a message, _Taryn_, it said, _I have failed, you must do it, now!_

Taryn replied, _No Revan, not while you're still down there, you must fight, stay alive! I'm coming for you, I won't let you die! _

Revan felt her consciousness slipping, the darkness closing in. Then a voice spoke to her, from the back of her mind, '_Hello Revan, you know who I am, I can give you what you need to kill him, and to rid the galaxy of his ilk forever. Use me, you know you want to, you need me, otherwise you will have failed, failed the Republic, failed your men, failed her, failed yourself._' Revan took the offer.

Calling the darkness to her, she enshrouded herself in it, feeling the heat of its fire running through her, quickly losing herself to it. A small part of her rebelled, but soon that too was consumed.

The flame of the Dark Side spread throughout her body, filling her muscles with energy, dissolving the tiredness. The flames knit new tissue where the old had frayed, forged new bone where the old had been broken. Revan was whole once again.

Using her newfound power, she propelled herself off the ground with her arms and sprang off Mandalore's chest, sending him staggering. Her lightsaber flew to her outstretched hand and she attacked him furiously, he barely parried her flashing blade, her strength magnified tenfold.

'How weak am I now, Mandalore?' she shouted, again bringing her blade against his. He tried to return to the offensive, but she blocked his strokes effortlessly. Batting his sword away, she cut at him, sending gobbets of molten metal flying.

Channelling the Force into her hand, she unleashed a torrent of energy at him, his back arched, his skin burned and smoked as he fell to the ground, eyes wide.

Now it was she who stood tall over him, she who held her blade to his throat. For the first time, she saw fear in his eyes. She raised the lightsaber, and with one savage swipe, his head rolled across the ground.

As the light in his eyes faded, she stepped away, leaving his body to rot.

Boarding her shuttle, she left the dark planet behind, but its darkness did not leave her.

* * *

The Sith ships that made up a large part of the Mandalorian fleet had betrayed them as soon as they learned of Mandalore's demise. The Mandalorians returned fired with equal vigour. Red and blue bolts of energy crisscrossed the void of space between the supposedly allied vessels, some hitting the Republic ships. The massive Sith warship, the Ravager, was taking the brunt of the Mandalorians' attack, blue lasers tearing gaping holes in the ship's hull. It returned the favour, and as Taryn watched another Mandalorian gunship exploded. 

Revan's flagship was turning towards the battle when it received a Priority One override, telling it to move away from the planet.

Taryn was readying her assault transport when Revan's shuttle floated through the force shield that protected the hangar from vacuum. She watched her commander stride out, seemingly unhurt. Walking beside her, she asked, 'Revan, are you alright?'

'Alright? I'm better than alright, this war is won, Taryn. Just activate the device, then we can forget about the Mandalorians.'

'What?! But you just said the war is won! Won't the Mandalorians submit to the Republic now?'

'No, my dear Taryn, they will never truly submit to us, who they perceive to be weak. We must destroy them all.' She strode off, without answering any of Taryn's doubts.

Taryn made her way back to her quarters, where she had left the remote. Picking it up, she looked at it, this small thing that could cause untold destruction, leaving the Republic victorious. She wondered whether Revan truly knew what this entailed. That brooding malevolence that had surrounded her as she stepped aboard, a cloud of darkness that had somehow come to her. She knew Revan was no longer the woman she had trusted and served.

She pushed the button.

The screaming began. The Mandalorians, still very close to the planets surface, and many of the damaged, crippled Republic ships began their slow plummeting descent into the brooding skies of Malachor V. Still, they struggled, putting all power to engines, while others, doomed to their fate, were more concerned with taking their last few shots in the name of honour.

The massive machine on the planet served its purpose well, amplifying the mass shadow of the planet a hundred times, creating a vortex of swirling gravitic energy, so strong that the laser blasts couldn't even escape, superheated Tibanna gas sucked towards the surface.

Like a rubber seed bursting open, a Republic cruiser expelled its escape pods, and then exploded with a massive orange-red flare, only to have the flames die out in the cold vacuum. The pods streaked toward land, leaving bright trails in the sky, which would soon be followed by brighter ones, as the massive capital ships fell to their death.

Even the Ravager, which had been powering up its hyperdrive, was caught in the wake of the mass shadow generator, but it was far enough from Malachor that it was pulled into a slow orbit, while its armour plating cracked and spun off into the void.

Taryn sank to the floor, her head spinning, all the voices screaming their death screams, a huge wave of sound crashing into her, buffeting her every which way, breaking over her only to coalesce seconds later and come around for another pass. The screams were unbearable, she felt every life being covered by darkness, drawn into death. She tried to block it out, to drown it with her own voice, screaming at herself; it was devouring her from the inside out, tearing gashes in her very core.

IT HAD TO STOP!

She tore herself away from it, running from it as the wave closed in, pushing at it until... Suddenly, it was gone. She was cold, oh so cold, and her mind was blank as reality undulated around her. She vaguely remembered being lifted, by soft, caring fingers, then, nothing.

The world within her consciousness was still.

Revan had been in her quarters, planning her next move, what would she do now, with the power in her hands?

Then the screaming started, muffled, overlaid with _her_ voice, pleading, hoping for her help. Too late, she realized it was Taryn, calling to her. The flame blazed higher, trying to regain control. But Taryn's screams formed a barrier of ice around her heart, protecting it from the inferno. Revan ran.

* * *

Taryn lay in the med bay. Her breathing was shallow and she looked like she had been drained of her blood. 

Revan waited, as she had been waiting for nearly three days, postponing awards ceremonies and celebratory dinners, down on Coruscant. Taryn was her only concern. For three days she had lain there, unmoving, lost to everyone, even herself.

Taryn's consciousness swam, screams still echoing throughout her frail psyche. But she persisted, forcing her body to help her mind recuperate, refusing to die. At last, she opened her eyes.

Revan saw a near imperceptible flicker of Taryn's eyelids, then they were open, searching the visible for something familiar. She moved quickly to her friends' side, gently lifting her head. Taryn's eyes focused on her face.

'Are you alright?'

'I... I can't feel...'

'Doctor, are you sure there's nothing wrong with her? Nerve damage?' she inquired.

The doctor replied, 'Definitely, it's nothing physical.'

'Can you feel this?' Revan asked, grasping Taryn's still cold hand.

'No, not like that, I can't feel you, I can't feel him,' gesturing to the doctor, 'I can't feel... anyone.

'Revan, I can't feel the Force.'

'What?! How? Why?'

'Don't you know? Couldn't you hear them, through our bond?'

'The screams.'

'Yes. I caused them, Revan.'

'No, you were only following orders! My orders!'

'Saying that doesn't mean anything. I could have disobeyed. I chose not to. I think... I knew what would happen.'

'What?'

'I did, and now, I have to leave. I can't follow you anymore. You don't need me here, I'll only be a hindrance.'

'How in the Galaxy can you say that?! Where would I be without you? Dead! You saved me just as I was going to give up, and fall on Mandalore's blade! And now you want to leave?' Her eyes blazed, the icy walls crumbled, the flames roared higher.

'Fine. Leave. I don't need your whining. I can do it alone, with my newfound power. I was willing to share, but now I realize it's no use. You are dead to me.'

'Revan, wait. You don't have to do this! Come with me, we can explain ourselves to the Council! They'll take us back, I'm sure of it, please!'

'Go Taryn, and do not return. If you do, I'll make sure you don't survive our next encounter.' she began to walk out of the room.

'Wait!'

'Silence!' and Revan's voice was that of Hurricane, Volcano and Thunderstorm, booming throughout the hallway and carrying the undertones of her power.

Silence reigned.

Taryn resigned herself to her fate. She would leave, and not look back, for there would be nothing to look back to. And she would wander the untravelled ways, without the Force as her guide. She tried again, to touch its soothing flow.

Silence reigned.

* * *

(1) Facilis descensus Averno - Latin - The descent into Hell is easy.

(2) Corellian snapdragon - A Corellian plant which catches fast-moving Corellian insects, very quick.

* * *

Next Chapter, _How Malak loses his jaw_! Stay tuned. 


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